Daugherty: Bengals' loss to Browns proves 'Any Given Sunday'

Sep. 29, 2013

The Bengals' offense failed to reach the end zone in Cleveland. / The Enquirer/Joseph Fuqua II

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CLEVELAND Ė Itís always hard to know anything for certain in the NFL. The most socialist of sports leagues urges competitiveness. From each, according to his ability. To each, an occasional shot at a franchise quarterback in the draft. Last weekís team of the year is this weekís chump. Itís why anyone who bets on pro football is asking to live in a cardboard box.

As for individual performances, well, the coaches just have to watch the tape.

A week ago, the Bengals stunned the Packers. The Bengals were All That. On Sunday, they were unceremoniously chumped by the Cleveland Browns. This sort of inconsistency isnít unique to Cincinnati. It fairly defines the parity/mediocrity of the entire league. If a month from now, Football Nation is noting a Browns renaissance and praising Clevelandís outta-nowhere QB Brian Hoyer, will anyone be surprised?

Thatís not to excuse the Bengals, who stunk. Itís to suggest that Any Given Sunday isnít just a clichť in the NFL. Itís a religion.

The Browns beat the Bengals 17-6, and it wasnít that close. When Cleveland needed a touchdown, it went 91 yards in 12 plays and used up more than six precious, fourth-quarter minutes. When Cincinnati needed a touchdown, center Kyle Cook launched a routine snap off Andy Daltonís leg.

The Browns got two TDs, no interceptions and 269 yards from the aforementioned Hoyer, a fifth-year pro making his third career start. The Bengals got no TDs, one interception and an egregious 58.2 rating from Dalton.

The Bengals didnít score a touchdown. With a couple notable exceptions, they didnít threaten to score a touchdown. It was the sort of day they drafted Tyler Eifert and Gio Bernard to prevent. Remember?

Dalton needed more weapons. It couldnít be all-A.J., all the time. So it was interesting Sunday to watch Dalton force-feed Green, to almost no effect. Of his 42 throws, 15 went to Green, who caught seven, for all of 51 yards.

If youíre seeking instant analysis from this pile, try this:

It was the sort of game that sends a shiver of fear up an organizationís spine.

The Bengals future, immediate and out a few seasons, is dependent on Dalton being The Guy. To do that, he has to make big plays in big moments. In the end, football is not a complex game. Very often in the NFL, the team with the better QB is going to win the game. The Bengals can load up on big-time pass rushers. They can fortify their offense with rookies who can catch and run. If Dalton isnít The Guy, the team wonít get a lot better.

As Dalton himself noted afterward, ďWe have all the ability in the world. I didnít play well enough.íí

The Bengals lacked consistency because they couldnít cash in on third down. They were 4-for-14. The Hoyers were 9-for-18. The Bengals didnít score a TD because the Browns stuffed a 4th-and-1 run from the Cleveland 7, a play that apparently was dead on arrival.

ďA clusteríí was how Andrew Whitworth described the play. Something about half the Bengals on the field not knowing what the play was. ďIíve been embarrassed. Thatís what I am right now,íí Whitworth said.

Then early in the fourth quarter, the Bengals had a first down at the Cleveland 41, behind just10-6. Dalton had just passed for 24 yards to Jermaine Gresham. Surely, the better team would assert itself, and escape with a win that would later be described as ďhard fought.íí

Not exactly.

The snap caromed off Dalton. Bernard fell on it. Fourteen-yard loss, then a give-up screen pass for three yards, on 3rd-and 24. The Browns took over and went 91 yards. Hoyer was 5-for-5 on the drive, including a 31-yarder over the middle to tight end Jordan Cameron: A big play in a big moment.

The Bengals are 2-2. Perfect, by NFL standards. Andy Dalton has 12 games and 13 weeks to rise above. Predicting if he will is like predicting a white Christmas. Dalton canít have a lot of games like he had here Sunday, though. The average-is-good league does demand greatness from its championship quarterbacks.